Something new is coming for you this month. It’s something I’ve been working on and I’m so excited, I can hardly wait to push the “publish” button and make it go live! But before all that, I thought I’d take a minute and explain why I’m adding soy candles to my collection.
It all started at the end of last year. Someone had given a box of vintage mason jars to Eleven Eleven gifts. The jars were sitting waiting for inspiration to strike. I kept looking at the box, and then it came – those would be fantastic candles! I did a little research on just how to make soy candles. I ordered a sample kit, and gave it a try. I imagined finding scents that I actually wanted to use in my own home would be challenging.
I quickly found some scents that were delightful, and I thought pouring those first few candles was so much fun. I went ahead and made the vintage jars into candles and they just about sold out in the local store! Side note, as I was making this initial batch, Mr. Incredible walked in the kitchen and started helping. He enjoys making candles *almost* as much as I do – so it’s a fun thing for us to do together. Win win!
As I was planning out 2019 and thinking through where I wanted Roots and Wings to go, I was also thinking about the things in the business that were surprising or most gave me joy (or anxiety). Candles was one of the surprisingly joyful things. I’m learning to press into these kinds of things, if for no other reason than God gave us the ability to enjoy the creative process. On one hand this is quite different than painting furniture – making small things over and over, labeling, packaging, etc – and on the other hand it’s very similar – continuing my mission to help you make a home you love for you and your family.
I love burning candles at home. In fact, I think it’s a part of what makes a house a home to me. You can invoke comfort and warmth quite easily with smell. I have a few friends who are fellow candle burners, and whenever I walk into their home, it always smells good – it smells like them! I love that. Scents and smells also are perennial. They change with the season, we want to smell different things in our home at different times of the year – so I’ve decided this (for now) will be a seasonal candle collection. With 5 new scents coming out for each season.
We’re starting with small batches, taking over the kitchen and the dining room table a batch at a time. Literally, my dining room table has looked like this lately:
This is precisely what tables are for, right? Kid craft projects, and the latest creative venture. 😁
Because vintage mason jars are quite hard (and sometimes expensive) we will not be offering the vintage jars consistently. From time to time as they are found, we will add them to the collection. Most of the time however we’ll be using clear Ball Mason Jars for the soy candles.
I chose clear Ball jars because they are classic, I always look for the “white” candles in a store and hope they smell good, avoiding the garish colors that don’t match my home – so these are all pure white. I love the clear jars because they can go anywhere, very easily becoming a part of just about any decor. The lids are simple and there is one round sticker on the top. I didn’t want a great big label on the jar, something to design around or add chaos to the visual appearance. I wanted these to be as simple and delightful as possible. The tins are similar in their simple appearance, all silver with one label on the lid. The lid fits on the base of the candle as well as the top, so you can sit the candle inside the lid and not lose it.
We chose soy because it’s better for your home, better for you, and quite popular now as a wax. Soy candles burn for a long time, so you can get about 100 hours out of a 16oz mason jar candle, and 40-50 hours out of an 8oz tin. This is fantastic if you love to always have a candle burning in your home like me!
The Spring Collection:
Vanilla – After the holidays, I like to burn a simple vanilla candle. It’s light and fresh and simple. This is the scent I’ve been burning most often lately! Our vanilla is a classic vanilla scent with a strong woody cedar wood base making it not too sweet.
Spring Cleaning – this is a clean, fresh scent! Perfect for those days of cleaning out (or the days you wish you could). A sweet and sultry fusion of mandarin, jasmine and rich amber.
Refreshing Citrus – citrus reminds me of late winter/early spring, so this scent is a pleasing reminder of oranges, grapefruit and bergamot. It’s fresh and bright to wake you up and get you going!
Berries & Blossoms – this is the sweetest most floral scent of the Spring Collection. Of course there had to be some spring flowers in the mix! This is smooth and elegant with soft floral notes and sweet berry.
Lemon Pound Cake – this one may be my favorite. It’s for you bakery lovers, while I was pouring this scent my kitchen smelled literally like I was baking! Fresh lemon combined with buttery pound cake and a hint of vanilla – this one will make you hungry!
The Spring Collection launches February 15th! There are limited quantities available, so you’ll want to grab them while you can! I can’t wait to send you a little bit of spring and make your house a home you love! Hand made, soy candles right from my home to yours!
Stay creative!
Jenni
